A teacher in Splendora, Texas, is facing felony charges after she allegedly lied about a student stabbing her on campus, which caused the school to go into lockdown.
The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office said that Nicole Truelove was arrested after Splendora High School went into lockdown on Thursday, April 9, according to a press release viewed by Us Weekly. While Truelove allegedly claimed that a student had stabbed her, police said evidence indicates that her wound was self-inflicted.
It’s believed that Truelove, 53, cut herself with a razor before she pushed a panic button.
Authorities made sure the scene was secured and there was no threat to students or the general public before the lockdown concluded. Additionally, officials confirmed that no students were injured during the incident.
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The sheriff’s office said that Truelove was booked into jail after the incident, and she has since been charged with felony tampering with evidence and filing a false report.
“Evidence supports that this was a hoax,” Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office Assistant Chief of Operations Rick Bass said in a statement, per the KHOU 11.
It is not currently known what Truelove’s motive was in the incident.
Investigators said that a panic alarm at the school was triggered around 8:45 a.m., which prompted the campus to go into an immediate lockdown. The school was moved to a “secure hold” around 9:50 a.m. as the investigation into the matter continued.
A secure hold takes place when students remain in classrooms while the hallways are kept clear, according to the district. While students were confined to classrooms, the lessons continued as scheduled.
The incident left students frightened, with senior Kelly Garcia telling the outlet, “I called my mom, and she started crying, like, it was just unacceptable.”
Garcia, 18, went on to describe the situation as chaotic as the school went into lockdown. “Just to see all the kids running the opposite way and the teachers yelling at all of us to get into a room,” she said.
Meanwhile, school district officials said they followed their protocols when the panic button was pushed.
“The lockdown seemed appropriate at that time, until we could get to the point where we were leaning toward self-inflicting and there was not an actual situation,” Splendora Independent School District Superintendent Dustin Bromley said, per the outlet.
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It is not currently clear if Truelove has entered a plea or retained legal counsel following her arrest. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office told Us they have no additional updates to share as of time of publication.
The recent arrest is not Truelove’s first run-in with the law. KHOU 11 reported that she’s been linked to other federal lawsuits, including one in which she claimed to have been sexually assaulted by an inmate while she was teaching in a state prison facility.
Truelove sued the Windham School District and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in 2019 regarding the complaint, according to KHOU 11. The suit was later settled.
